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Hip-Hop: A Tool for "Decentering the Center" in Political Science Classrooms
Unformatted Document Text:  Hip Hop: A Tool for “Decentering the Center” in Political Science Classrooms Dr. Jocelyn M. Boryczka Fairfield University As teachers in a classroom, either we can participate in a passive collusion with the culture of passivity or we can attempt to become agents of transformation and thus begin to forge an active culture that acknowledges the true catalytic power of difference. 1 1 Teresa McKenna. “Borderness and Pedagogy: Exposing Culture in the Classroom,” in The Critical Pedagogy Reader, eds. Antonia Darder, Marta Baltodano, and Rodolfo D. Torres (New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003), 436. Hip hop functions as a powerful tool for transforming a “culture of passivity” in the classroom to one that uses difference to engage actively with political change and critical thought. Though often off our academic radar screens, hip hop, conceived of as a contemporary social and cultural movement, can “decenter the center” of political science classrooms. In nearly three decades hip hop has evolved from random block parties in the Bronx to a multi-million-dollar-a-year industry and, most recently, a viable political movement aimed at organizing the minority, poor, and youth vote. Born out of the 1980's deindustrialization that decimated America’s inner cities, graffiti art, break dancing, and rapping became tools to communicate the experiences of those without a voice in mainstream political discourse. In the 1990s, hip hop crossed over to reach a mass audience ranging from white middle class males to urban blacks, motivating some key players to view its followers as the base for a political movement. Russell Simmons, for instance, launched the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network in 2001 and worked to register two million voters for the 2004 presidential election. Serving a similar purpose, P. Diddy founded Citizen Change in 2004. As such, some observers and participants view hip hop as the 21 st century’s response to the Civil Rights movement. For many on society’s political margins, hip hop constitutes a new form of political identity that emanates from traditions defined by race, class, and/or gender, making this

Authors: Boryczka, Jocelyn.
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Hip Hop: A Tool for “Decentering the Center” in Political Science Classrooms
Dr. Jocelyn M. Boryczka
Fairfield University
As teachers in a classroom, either we can participate in a passive collusion with the culture of passivity
or we can attempt to become agents of transformation and thus begin to forge an active culture that
acknowledges the true catalytic power of difference.
1
1
Teresa McKenna. “Borderness and Pedagogy: Exposing Culture in the Classroom,” in The
Critical Pedagogy Reader, eds. Antonia Darder, Marta Baltodano, and Rodolfo D. Torres (New York,
NY: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003), 436.
Hip hop functions as a powerful tool for transforming a “culture of passivity” in the classroom to
one that uses difference to engage actively with political change and critical thought. Though often off our
academic radar screens, hip hop, conceived of as a contemporary social and cultural movement, can
“decenter the center” of political science classrooms. In nearly three decades hip hop has evolved from
random block parties in the Bronx to a multi-million-dollar-a-year industry and, most recently, a viable
political movement aimed at organizing the minority, poor, and youth vote. Born out of the 1980's
deindustrialization that decimated America’s inner cities, graffiti art, break dancing, and rapping became
tools to communicate the experiences of those without a voice in mainstream political discourse. In the
1990s, hip hop crossed over to reach a mass audience ranging from white middle class males to urban
blacks, motivating some key players to view its followers as the base for a political movement. Russell
Simmons, for instance, launched the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network in 2001 and worked to register
two million voters for the 2004 presidential election. Serving a similar purpose, P. Diddy founded Citizen
Change in 2004. As such, some observers and participants view hip hop as the 21
st
century’s response to
the Civil Rights movement. For many on society’s political margins, hip hop constitutes a new form of
political identity that emanates from traditions defined by race, class, and/or gender, making this


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